CHARLOTTE, NC (LOOTPRESS) – The Trump administration is preparing to send large teams of U.S. Border Patrol agents to Charlotte, North Carolina, and New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of expanded interior immigration enforcement operations, according to internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents and U.S. officials familiar with the plans.
Charlotte and New Orleans are listed as the next cities targeted in the administration’s ongoing nationwide deportation campaign, following recent high-profile operations in Chicago and Los Angeles. In both cities, Border Patrol agents conducted visible and sometimes controversial enforcement actions far from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Two sources told CBS News that an operations center is already being established in Charlotte and that the deployment could begin as early as next week. Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed Thursday he had been notified by federal officials that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel could arrive in the Charlotte area as early as this weekend.
After Charlotte, DHS planning documents indicate Border Patrol operations will shift to New Orleans, where as many as 200 agents may be assigned. The documents also show that armored vehicles, including BearCat-style tactical units, have been requested for both cities. The internal operation names—“Charlotte Web” and “Catahoula Crunch”—appear to reference the children’s novel Charlotte’s Web and Louisiana’s official state dog, the Catahoula Leopard Dog.
Many of the Border Patrol agents previously deployed to Chicago, including commander Gregory Bovino, are expected to participate in the Charlotte and New Orleans operations, officials said. CBS News reported last week that Bovino and his teams were preparing to leave Chicago and could be reassigned to new enforcement locations.
DHS officials declined to comment on the specifics of the upcoming deployments. “We do not discuss future or potential operations,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary for public affairs. “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country.”
The planned actions underscore the administration’s growing reliance on Border Patrol agents to conduct enforcement in the interior of the United States. Although Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the agency traditionally responsible for these operations, the administration has increasingly used Border Patrol units even in cities far from the border. Illegal border crossings reached a 55-year low in fiscal year 2025.
Border Patrol deployments in Chicago and Los Angeles have drawn criticism and sparked protests from residents and local organizations who argue the tactics were overly aggressive. While ICE and Border Patrol share legal authority to arrest people suspected of being in the country illegally, their methods differ. ICE typically focuses on targeted operations informed by intelligence and surveillance, usually involving individuals with criminal histories. Border Patrol agents, by contrast, have been carrying out broader, more visible enforcement sweeps under the administration’s direction.
